Here’s what the national media are saying about the Seahawks’ ‘muddy’ future after coaching overhaul

The Seahawks' coaching changes could be the start of a massive overhaul in Seattle. But will the moves lead to prolonged success, or is the championship window now closed? Here's what the national media are saying.

Share story

Have you had a chance to recover from the whirlwind of Seahawks’ moves Wednesday?

In a span of hours, the team fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and offensive-line coach and assistant head coach Tom Cable, while reportedly allowing defensive coordinator Kris Richard out of his contract to pursue other potential coordinator positions.

And that was just the start of a potential overhaul in Seattle…

While it’s unclear what the team’s identity will be in 2018 and beyond, what is abundantly clear after Wednesday’s moves is that the time was right in Pete Carroll’s eyes to blow up the foundation of the former Super Bowl team, and move on.

“Wednesday’s moves seemed like the first step in trying to squeeze one last bit out of this group, or the first signs of a rebuild. It’s possible the Seahawks reload without any major dip. Any team with Wilson should always be competitive. But for the first time in a long time, we don’t know what the Seahawks will be.

No matter what, the Seahawks team of the past few years has a spot in NFL history. What happens next will determine if there’s more to this run than just those six great years.”

“So to sum up: the Seahawks don’t have an offensive line or a running game, are losing their top red-zone weapon, and they just fired their long-time offensive coordinator, presumably to create an offense around their quarterback, and they really better hope it works because there is a pretty good chance that at least a third — and maybe more — of the stars on their defense are out the door or injured when the season starts, and whoever is left will be working with a new defensive coordinator.

It wasn’t that long ago the Seahawks clearly had the best defensive nucleus in the NFL, set for years to come. Now the future is muddy, at best.”

“Darrell Bevell will be remembered as the guy responsible for the playcall that cost the Seattle Seahawks the Super Bowl. But that isn’t entirely fair, nor is it completely accurate.

Bevell, fired by the Seahawks on Wednesday, should also be remembered as a successful offensive coordinator, or at least a much better one than he was often given credit for being during his seven seasons in Seattle. That stretch produced some of the most prolific offenses in franchise history along with five straight playoff appearances and two trips to the Super Bowl.”

“Meanwhile, in another change that felt long overdue, the Seahawks fired longtime offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on Wednesday. All eyes are now on the Seahawks, who could either hire a fresh new voice who both maximizes Russell Wilson’s strengths and provides him with some novel new features (like running backs and blockers), or they could hire a retread and trudge backward toward mediocrity.

The Seahawks rose to power by being creative enough to choose the former. But according to the rumor mill, they will be conventional and opt for the latter this time around.”

“…while it stinks to have allowed that to happen and to have seen the window close on members of the Seahawks’ core, the past is behind us and I’m relieved that Pete and his crew are ready to forge ahead with new blood and a fresh take.

I don’t know if it will work. No one does. There are no obvious internal candidates to replace Bevell, Cable, and possibly defensive coordinator Kris Richard. Not like when Dan Quinn replaced Gus Bradley or Richard replaced Quinn.”

Mind blown that the Seahawks would fire Tom Cable. Easily one of the best offensive line coaches in the league and has done it having to convert late round d lineman to o line on a yearly basis.

Last Seahawks thought: Organizational focus has to be on maximizing Wilson's potential. That's clearest path to another Super Bowl. He showed in second half of '15 what he's capable of from the pocket. Defense can still be good, but '12/'13 units aren't coming back.

Ex-Seahawks OL coach Tom Cable long had the safe harbor of the team's lack of investment in linemen. That ship sailed the last couple years, with the team spending 3 Top 100 picks on OLs in '16 and '17 and acquiring Duane Brown.